Commercial television in Canada generally used a model similar to the U.S., with networks composed of first-party owned and operated (O&O) stations, and third-party affiliates.
The major English-language networks, including advertising-funded public network CBC Television, have largely used similar schedules, and consistent branding and on-air continuity, with little variation besides local newscasts and public affairs programs (for example, some CTV stations, especially in Western Canada, substitute the network's national morning show Your Morning for the local format CTV Morning Live), and time zone variations to allow for simultaneous substitution of programming carried by U.S. broadcast stations available on subscription television in the market.
There are relatively few third-party affiliate stations of Canada's commercial networks; they typically follow the schedule of an O&O in a nearby major market, but with opt-outs for local newscasts and other local programming, and may also simulcast that station's newscasts in timeslots where they do not air their own (essentially acting as a third-party semi-satellite).
CJON-DT has more significant variations due to having sublicensed different types of programming from Global, CTV, and Yes TV.
However, most of them had been scaled back dramatically or cancelled altogether due to cost-cutting measures and preparations for the network's impending digital switchover.
From 2011 to 2016, TV5 used to feature regional variations in its Cebu station DYET-TV with a local news programme entitled Aksyon Bisaya.
[3] As the United Kingdom consists of four different countries, television stations serving Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have had a tradition of regional programmes of relevance to their respective cultures.
[13] The Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales channels have more noticeable on-air differences, including more prominent regional branding and use of local continuity announcers, while BBC One Scotland carries additional entertainment and sports programming of relevance to the country (including original series such as the Glasgow-set soap opera River City, local sports coverage under the Sportscene banner,[14][15][16][17] and Hogmanay-themed programming in lieu of the London-focused New Year's Eve special aired on the rest of the network).
[36][37] In 2009, STV became caught in a legal dispute with ITV over its decisions to opt-out of networked programmes that it deemed "underperforming", in favour of more Scottish productions.
[40][41] U.S. broadcast television is heavily regionalised due to the business model of its major networks, which enter into agreements with stations in each media market to carry their national programming, similarly to a franchise.
[42][43] In certain highly publicised cases, affiliates have opted out of network programmes (either individual episodes, or entire series) based on objections to their content by station management,[44][45] such as due to the owner's religious values (KSL-TV—a Utah-based station owned by a for-profit arm of the LDS Church—has a long history of having declined shows it deemed to be objectionable),[46][47][48][49][50] political reasons,[51][52] and sensitivity issues (in June 2017, NBC-owned WVIT in Connecticut opted out of an episode of Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly that controversially featured an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who had denied the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings).
[54][55] A more straightforward equivalent to a regional variation in North American broadcasting is a semi-satellite—a co-owned rebroadcaster of a television station that is used to extend its range into a different portion of a market (typically if the main signal is not strong enough to reach it), or a different one entirely, but has more variation in programming than a straight rebroadcaster.
Semi-satellites typically share the majority of their programming with a parent station (which may vary to account for syndication rights), but carry a different on-air brand, and local advertising specific to the region.